Pidzza = Pide (Turkish flatbread) + pizza = all sorts of delicious! Pizza with a Turkish flare, the first outpost of Pidzza opened up in Ivy City a few weeks back. Yes, Ivy City is absolutely booming these days!

I never really think of Bethesda as a dining destination and almost never venture out there. But just away from the main Bethesda downtown is Brickside Food and Drink - a sports bar with upscale refined food that had me wondering why I didn’t make the visit earlier!

Chef Matthew Smith has come in and elevated Brickside to a place where “the sport fan and foodie intersect”. Chef Smith, who has previously worked at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant in Las Vegas, in Italy as the sous chef at critically acclaimed CarneVino, and then moved back to his native Maryland to oversee the kitchen at Baltimore’s Salt Tavern, has really raised the bar on the food at Brickside. I really don’t want to call it “bar food” since it’s so much more than that!

I can’t believe it’s already November! This year has just flown by. Anyway, I’m happy that cool weather is finally here, and along with that comes all the fall flavors. No, NOT thinking about Pumpkin spice lattes – cannot stand those. What I’m going to think about, however, is the delicious new fall additions at Provision 14.

Indique, formed by the fusion of Indian and Unique, has been a mainstay in Cleveland Park since 2002. They underwent a much needed menu overhaul and I am happy to report that it has come back stronger than ever!

The folks behind one of my neighborhood favorites Provision 14 and The Prospect opened Bonfire restaurant in the Dupont circle neighborhood a couple of months ago. My recent visit to Bonfire proved to a fun affair with the entire experience showcasing food and drinks that were not just delicious, but original and interesting.

Ottoman Taverna is the latest restaurant by restaurateur Hakan Ilhan in the Mount Vernon triangle neighborhood, where he also runs Alba Osteria and L’Hommage Bistro. Hakan runs over 20 restaurants, eateries, and gourmet markets in the area, but he waited a long time before opening one fashioned after his own Turkish roots. Why, you ask? He wanted to get it right.

It seems as if there is a new restaurant opening in Shaw every other day! I’m definitely not complaining. The newest addition to the scene is Takoda – a rooftop beer garden a modern American menu.

What’s in a name? TAKODA is a Native American name that means “Friend to Everyone” – and that’s what they are aiming to be and based on my first experience there, I am definitely happy to be their friend!

For me, brunch is all about indulgence – drinking mimosas, eating all morning, probably still recovering from being out a bit too late the previous night, things that are not part of my normal routine on a day that isn’t the weekend.

During my recent stay at the Fairmont Washington, I learned of their rooftop honeybee hives, from which they harvest honey to use. This is not the hotel’s first foray into sustainable farming – their beautiful courtyard is already home to fresh herbs and edible flowers that are used in the hotel’s culinary programs and at the Juniper restaurant. A few years back, as the Fairmont looked into new and creative ways to enhance their sustainability program, the honeybee program was initiated and is now being done in many different Fairmont properties across the country and internationally.

We can all agree that DC is a smorgasbord of global cuisine, but there are not too many places for Balkan cuisine! Enter Ambar. Ambar has been open for a couple of years now, serving up Balkan specialties, in tapa style small plates. When they opened, I had a fantastic meal with friends trying out the cuisine for the first time. I recently went back for dinner, and although I’m not too familiar with Balkan food, I can definitely say this place has turned me on to it!